Blood and Betrayal
POV: Nae Yi / Cheng Dynasty
The night of the twins' birthday had arrived. Torches lit the imperial palace with a hellish glow, shadows dancing across walls drenched in anticipation and death. Nae Yi's eyes glimmered with cruel satisfaction as she surveyed the courtyard below.
The pieces are set, she whispered, fingering the hilt of her ceremonial dagger. Tonight, the prophecy is fulfilled — or undone. And the girl… if she hesitates, she dies.
She summoned Giyeok. The young assassin appeared instantly, bowing deeply, the weight of loyalty and fear pressing on her shoulders.
"Remember," Nae Yi's voice was like ice. "One more hesitation, and your life ends. Kill him… or die yourself. Obey, or burn."
Giyeok's hands trembled. She glanced at Xiao Xing, who moved among the loyalists, unaware of the trap that had been set. Every heartbeat screamed: I cannot… I cannot…
Nae Yi's eyes narrowed dangerously. "…Tonight, the boy will die. And you will either obey or fall with him."
POV: Xiao Xing / Cheng Dynasty
Xiao Xing had sensed the growing tension in the palace. The city had calmed after the rebellion, but the air now carried the smell of steel and blood. His eyes scanned the courtyard, unaware of the assassins waiting in the shadows.
He spotted Giyeok moving strangely, her dagger drawn. His heart stopped. "…Giyeok?"
Her eyes met his, filled with terror and conflict. "…I… I can't…" she whispered.
Before she could finish, a blade flashed — one of Nae Yi's elite assassins lunged forward. Giyeok screamed as the dagger found her side, crimson spreading instantly across her clothing.
"GIYEOK!!" Xiao Xing roared, rushing to her side. Blood poured onto his hands as he cradled her. Her face, pale and shocked, trembled against his chest.
"…You promised… together…" she whispered weakly. "…don't let her… win…"
Tears blurred his vision as rage consumed him. But before he could act, another assassin appeared — faster, more skilled — and plunged a blade into his shoulder. Pain exploded through him, and he fell to one knee, Giyeok slipping in his arms.
The world narrowed to pain, grief, and fury.
POV: Xae Rin / Cheng Court
Meanwhile, chaos erupted inside the palace. On his birthday, Xae Rin stood in the throne room, prepared to greet the court, when a hail of skilled assassins struck. Blades sliced through guards like wind through reeds.
"Protect the Emperor!" Xae Rin shouted, fighting with deadly precision. Yet the sheer number and skill of the assassins was overwhelming. Guards fell around him, blood staining marble floors, screams echoing across the hall.
He realized the attack was synchronized — the twins in the courtyard and him inside — and that Nae Yi's hand was behind everything.
POV: Bai Li / Emperor's Palace
Bai Li had returned to the Emperor's side as the palace erupted into carnage. He moved with unmatched speed, each strike precise, each dodge elegant, but even he could not fight off dozens of assassins at once.
"Your Majesty, stay behind me!" he commanded, blocking a series of deadly attacks as swords clashed around them. Blood splattered his robes as he fought relentlessly.
The loyal Emperor watched in horror as his greatest protector battled seemingly impossible odds. Yet Bai Li smiled briefly, confident in his skill.
I will not fail the children… not tonight, he thought.
But the assassins were too many, too skilled. One overpowered him, plunging a blade deep into his chest. Bai Li gasped, falling to his knees, a crimson bloom spreading across his chest. He smiled faintly, blood trickling from his lips.
"Protect them… always," he whispered to the Emperor, collapsing fully into death.
POV: Xiao Xing / Cheng Dynasty
Xiao Xing's grief became fury. Giyeok's blood stained his hands, his own wound searing, yet his eyes burned with a red-hot resolve. He rose, ignoring the pain, and surged into the shadows. Every assassin he struck fell under his fury.
"NAE YI!!" he roared, his voice cutting through the chaos like a war cry. He cut through the ranks of assassins with unmatched ferocity, each swing fueled by rage, grief, and love.
Finally, he found her — Nae Yi, standing above the chaos, smirking. "So… strong… yet so fragile," she hissed, dagger raised.
"You will pay!" Xiao Xing shouted, launching himself forward. The air seemed to freeze as his blade met hers. Nae Yi faltered — for the first time — and he drove his sword through her side. She screamed, stumbling back, crimson blossoming across her white robes.
"You… dare…" she gasped, eyes wild with fury. "This is… not… over!"
With that, she vanished into the shadows, leaving a trail of blood behind, and a silent promise of revenge.
POV: Giyeok / Cheng Dynasty
Giyeok lay on the cold stone, trembling, pain wracking her body. Xiao Xing knelt beside her, hands soaked in her blood, tears mixing with the grime of battle.
"…You… you survived," she whispered, voice weak but steady. "…You… you never leave me."
"I will never leave you," Xiao Xing vowed, pressing his hand to her wound, though he knew it was severe. "…Stay with me. Breathe."
Her fingers twined with his. "…Together…" she whispered, the word heavy with agony and love.
Closing Scene: Aftermath of the Bloodbath
The palace was a massacre. Corpses of assassins, guards, and ministers littered the marble halls. Fires burned, smoke curling into the night sky. Bai Li lay dead, a hero fallen protecting the Emperor. Xae Rin, wounded but alive, had survived thanks to loyal soldiers. Giyeok was gravely injured but alive, cradled by Xiao Xing, who had finally struck down Nae Yi — though she had fled, leaving chaos in her wake.
The prophecy, the rebellion, and Nae Yi's schemes had collided violently. The twins, united in grief and rage, now faced the true storm — and the ultimate confrontation with Nae Yi, whose vengeance had only begun.